


La Primera Vista

by profound-boning (farawaystardust)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, Meet-Cute, POV Charlie Bradbury, Pre-Relationship, Student Castiel, Student Dean, Teacher Charlie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 11:59:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7102321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/farawaystardust/pseuds/profound-boning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Castiel—better known as Cas—is, in Charlie's experience, the kindest ninth grader in the world.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	La Primera Vista

**Author's Note:**

> hover over Spanish words for English translations, or check the author's note at the bottom

Charlie Bradbury, high school Spanish teacher extraordinaire, thinks it's kind of bizarre that a new student has joined her Spanish 1 class so late in the year. It's the second week of May for Kirk's sake! How is he supposed to finish the year—including final exams—with so little time at their school? Still, she's going to do her absolute best to help him along.

However, reading the information that was emailed to the staff, it would appear that Dean Winchester is used to being the new student.

Dean has been at three high schools already this year, and he is only in ninth grade. It appears that his middle school years were spent in about a dozen different middle schools, and the same story for his elementary schools. It's a wonder this boy can keep up in any classes at all, and what's more surprising is that he really does do well. His grades in most every class are consistently high B's, even A's in his English and Science courses.

Charlie is relieved to see that Dean took Spanish at his past two high schools, and he even squeezed in a semester of it in the eighth grade at a middle school in Arizona. At least he won't be entirely in the dark. Plus they just started a new chapter yesterday, so Dean can still get all the material he needs today.

And really, her third period is the best group for him to join. Not just because there was previously an odd number of students but because, despite a few talkative kiddos, this group is very positive and hard-working overall. They will certainly be welcoming towards Dean.

He shuffles in a few minutes before the bell rings and approaches her desk. He's fairly tall already; perhaps he's an athlete, which would explain his broad-shouldered and sturdy appearance. Dean doesn't really seem aggressive though, those shoulders are hunched a bit underneath the too-large leather jacket. His wide green eyes are focused on Charlie's shoes when he speaks to her.

"Hullo ma'am. I'm Dean Winchester. Nice t'meet you."

"Hi there, Dean. I'm Ms. Bradbury, but in here you call me Profe, as in profesora. ¿Comprendes?" she replies hopefully.

"Sí, Profe, comprendo." Charlie is happy he understood, and his pronunciation isn't too bad either.

"That's great, Dean, thank you. I'd love to chat with you after school about your Spanish, just to make sure this is the right level for you. Plus I can give you some of the materials that we've worked on this year so that we can move forward on the same page."

"M'sorry ma'am, I don't have time after school today. Can I come tomorrow morning?"

Charlie cringes internally—early mornings never get any easier—but she gives Dean a warm smile. "Sure thing. ¿Nos vemos a las 7:30?"

Dean just nods his understanding, but Charlie is not deterred. Quiet and withdrawn was her persona for a long time when she was Dean's age, but with acceptance and love, he could blossom into a sociable and happy kid.

The statement they'd received from Dean's last principal, one Rufus Turner at Sioux Falls Central, describes Dean as a gentle and considerate individual, smart, and overall a great asset to any classroom. However, Mr. Turner had included notes that Dean is extremely withdrawn due to the fact that his father is constantly moving them to new cities and new schools, not really giving him a chance to develop a personal identity and close friendships.

His entrance interview with the school's guidance counselor Jesse Cuevas seemed to lead to the same conclusions. There have also been incidents where Dean's younger brother was being bullied, and Dean reacted violently in response to this. Charlie can't empathize exactly, but she does understand both Dean's reaction and Mr. Turner's decision to not punish him too harshly. She expects their principal, Jody Mills, to handle anything like that in much the same way.

Jesse reported that Dean does not appear particularly anxious about being a new student again, rather he seems wary of the town as a whole and likely of the students he will only have about a month to get to know before the school year ends. Charlie wonders if he'll be with them in the fall. She certainly hopes so; it must be awful to feel so uprooted at this age.

With all of this information in mind, Charlie knows exactly where she's going to seat Dean in this class.

"Here, Dean, this will be your desk. Or rather, your half of the table. Your partner should be arriving any moment now," she tells him.

Castiel Novak will be the perfect table partner for Dean.

He had previously been on his own as a result of the odd number, and Charlie had known that her brightest student could handle sitting alone for the fourth quarter of the year, joining in other pairs to make a group of three when necessary.

Castiel—better known as Cas—is, in Charlie's experience, the kindest ninth grader in the world.

He regularly rescues the bees that fly into various classrooms, he's timely in turning in all of his homework, he's a competitive force on the school's cross country and track teams, where he also shines as a natural and considerate leader and role model.

Dean silently slips into his seat and gets out a daily planner. The cover is worn from use but there is bright ink scribbling and colorful notes pasted on the inside. Some of the handwriting is definitely from a child though, and so Charlie deduces this might be a little reminder of his brother Sam.

True to her prediction, Cas enters the classroom just a few moments after Charlie has walked to the front of the room to look over her materials for the period. She reaches out to him as he passes, laughing about something with Anna Milton.

"Cas, could I speak with you for a quick second?"

"Sure, Profe." He turns towards her while Anna walks to her own table. "¿Qué pasa?"

Charlie smirks at his use of Spanish and presses on. "You'll notice there's someone sitting at your table. He's a new student and I thought you'd be a good match. He's had Spanish before but I don't know anything beyond that. Can I count on you to help me help him?"

His smile grows wider. "Por supuesto Profe. Uh…" He struggles for his next word and Charlie just waits. "¿Cómo se llama?" He finally remembers with a snap of his fingers.

"Pregúntale, you go ask him." Charlie smiles and gestures to the back of the room. Cas nods and heads that way as the bell is ringing.

"Buenos días clase," Charlie calls in a clear voice to bring the students to order.

:     :     :     :     :

After her regular introduction and warm-ups with the kiddos, Charlie has them writing a few lists in English. This chapter is all about interrogative words and pastimes, so they're writing down the places they go in their free time, with whom they go to these places, at what time they normally go there, and the questions their family members ask them when they leave the house.

She makes her way to Dean and Cas's table and tells Dean in an undertone that he can write about his hometown if that would make more sense for him.

An odd look passes over his freckled face for the tiniest moment, just a brief flash of… of something. He just nods again and lowers his eyes to the tabletop and his notebook. Charlie feels unsettled and wishes not for the first time that she could peek into the minds of her young charges.

She gets the group’s attention again and instructs them to translate their lists. Yesterday they spent time copying the new vocabulary words from their textbook, and they should use those words to remake their lists.

Charlie is unsurprised but happy to see Cas get his out of his folder and place it directly in between himself and Dean on the table wordlessly. She thinks she spots Dean glance over at the other boy and a light pink color rise on his cheeks, but she can't be sure.

Charlie spends the next few minutes fielding questions about words they don't have in their notebooks—including Cas asking about a translation for paintball—before telling them to read their lists to their table partners and check for accuracy. She's making her way around again when she overhears Cas's questions for Dean.

"What do you mean your family doesn't ask you about anything? Not even are you gonna come home for dinner? Or did you do your homework yet?"

Dean's face is crimson with the force of his blush and Charlie feels something ugly twist in her gut. She thinks back to Mr. Turner's description of a callous and careless father and positively hurts for Dean and Sam Winchester. Speaking of the younger Winchester brother, it appears that he is the only person Dean spends any time with, and that makes her feel even sadder.

Luckily Cas seems to catch on that he's not exactly being polite about this and instead latches on to something else from Dean's list.

"Yeah, that's probably just me with the nosy, annoying siblings." He laughs, pulling Dean's notebook closer to himself. "What's the next bit here? Lucha?"

"Wrestling," Dean says quietly. "Después de la escuela, me gusta practicar la lucha."

Cas positively beams at him. "That's cool! I mean guay! We've got a wrestling team here. Uh, hay lucha aquí también. But yo me gusta más correr."

"It's, um, it's actually 'a mí' 'stead of 'yo' for that," Dean tells him, twisting his fingers together like he's nervous Cas will be upset with him for pointing out a little error. "Since you're technically sayin' 'running is pleasing to me' y'use 'a mí' for 'to me' not 'yo' for 'I'. Jus' so you know."

Cas gapes at him for a couple of seconds.

"Holy shit Dean! You're really good at this stuff!" Charlie has to hide her smile behind her hand when Dean flushes fire engine red and shakes his head no. "Seriously man, this is great. You and I are gonna ace this chapter, just you wait."

:     :     :     :     :

The students are working on an activity out of their textbook when the bell rings. Charlie bids them goodbye and straightens up her desk again. No, of course she's not loitering and no, she's definitely not eavesdropping on Dean and Cas some more.

Apparently, Dean had never heard of paintball before and Cas just lit up telling him all about the equipment and the course he's visited a few times nearby.

"It's crazy though when you play with my family because we're all super competitive. Keeps things interesting I suppose," Cas is saying, packing his bag haphazardly. Dean is just nodding along until Cas says, "Actually, Dean, we were planning to go again this weekend sometime if the weather's nice. Would you wanna come with?" Dean looks a little flustered.

"I—uh, I dunno Cas. It was my little brother's birthday last week, but with the—the move, we didn't get a chance to do anythin' fun."

"Dean," Cas says, looking quite solemn. "There is absolutely nothing more fun than pelting your sibling with neon paint. I'm gonna text my mom right now and see if you and Sam can join us. He just turned ten right? So he's fine! We've got…"

And Charlie can't help but grin at the beautiful smile growing on Dean's face while he listens to Cas ramble on some more.

Oh yeah, she made a good choice.

**Author's Note:**

> ¿Comprendes? - Do you understand?  
> Sí Profe, comprendo. - Yes teacher/professor, I understand.  
> ¿Nos vemos a las 7:30? - See you at 7:30? (approximate)  
> ¿Qué pasa? - What's up? (approximate)  
> Por supuesto, Profe. ¿Cómo se llama? - Of course, teacher. What's his name? (approximate)  
> Buenos días, clase. - Good morning/day, class.  
> Después de la escuela, me gusta practicar la lucha. - After school, I like to practice wrestling.
> 
> I think everything else got explained via context clues. If something doesn't make sense though just send me a message and I'll clarify. Thank you for reading this purely self-indulgent little fic. Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment sil vous plait! per favore! danke! (lol jk I only speak Spanish) 
> 
> [on tumblr](http://profound-boning.tumblr.com/post/145465355384/)


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